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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29910558">Rest, Brother</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazyfox411/pseuds/lazyfox411'>lazyfox411</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Old Guard (Movie 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, booker needs a hug lol</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 19:47:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>673</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29910558</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazyfox411/pseuds/lazyfox411</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s this selfish part, Booker thinks, that finally gives in when Nicky coaxes, “We are all still human, Booker. We all need comfort.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>What happened on the train, after Andy left to find Nile.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Booker | Sebastien le Livre &amp; Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>105</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Rest, Brother</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>YALL. I just recently watched this movie and i am,,,,obsessed lol. I havent written anything in a long time so im out of practice lol but i needed to share bc this film gave me FEELINGS. It's v short bc its the first thing ive written for these guys lol</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They all wake with a start. Nicky and Joe cling to each other, panting, Andy runs her hands through her hair, eyes wide, and Booker immediately reaches for the flask in his pocket, rubbing a hand over his throat.</p>
<p>“Not another one,” Andy laments. “Not now.”</p>
<p>“It was a woman,” Nicky says. “A black woman.”</p>
<p>“I felt her die,” Booker says, voice hoarse.</p>
<p>They talk. Joe makes a sketch.</p>
<p>“I’ll handle the retrieval,” Andy says tersely. She slings her backpack over her shoulder, and just like that, she’s gone.</p>
<p>They sit for a few minutes, trying to process, and finally Joe blinks, groggy now that the adrenaline has worn off, too tired to think more about the dream they’ve just all shared and what it will mean for them. Nicky doesn’t feel like he can sleep just yet, so he sits with his back against the rumbling wall of the train and Joe tucked safely under his arm, staring at nothing in particular and thinking about nothing and everything at the same time. Booker sits across from them, eyes closed.</p>
<p>Joe stirs, mumbles something, and Nicky placates him with gentle murmurs of “It’s alright, my love, just rest,” and other soothing nonsenses that immediately lull him back to sleep. </p>
<p>It’s quiet, then, except for the rattle of the train rolling over tracks. Nicky leans back, lets his eyes slip shut. Exhaustion weighs heavy on his shoulders, but sleep refuses to take him. He focuses on Joe’s steady breathing next to him, allows the smooth rhythm to calm his racing mind.</p>
<p>He’s not sure how much time passes, but it’s enough for him to nearly doze off again, when a sudden gasp of breath has him jolting awake and reaching for his gun. He surveys the train car to realize it’s only Booker, wide-eyed and gasping for air, rubbing at his neck subconsciously. </p>
<p>Joe is still fast asleep in Nicky’s lap, snoring softly, so Nicky whispers. “Booker, are you alright?”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Booker startles awake for the second time tonight with the feeling of a knife slitting his throat. It’s not really there, he knows it’s not there, it wasn’t his death, it was the new girl’s. But the phantom feeling of the blade lingers, and he rubs at his neck in vain to try and scrub it away.</p>
<p>“Booker, are you alright?” </p>
<p>Nicky is watching him intently from across the train car, Joe’s head pillowed in his lap. Booker feels sick to his stomach, and not from alcohol, a rare occurrence. </p>
<p>“Fine,” he clears his throat, still trying to rub away the feeling of the knife, “I’m fine.” He reaches again for the flask by his side, but something in Nicky’s eyes stops him, something old, and sad. </p>
<p>Nicky raises his arm, the one that’s not securing Joe to his side. “Come here,” he says softly.</p>
<p>Booker tries to give him a look that’s condescending, but the sentiment doesn’t quite make it across. “I’m fine,” he insists. His hands are trembling and he can’t seem to make them stop. </p>
<p>Nicky sighs, “Sebastien,” and Booker can tell he’s exhausted. </p>
<p>Nicky’s hands perform a multitude of tasks, many of them violent, but fundamentally, Booker believes that they are made for holding the people he loves. Nicky’s arms are for people like Joe, and Andy, and not people like Booker, who are liars and cowards and selfish. </p>
<p>It’s this selfish part, Booker thinks, that finally gives in when Nicky coaxes, “We are all still human, Booker. We all need comfort.”</p>
<p>He lets his feet carry him to sit beside Nicky, lets himself be wrapped in Nicky’s embrace. Hates himself for letting it calm him. Nicky cups a hand over the back of his head and strokes his fingers through his hair. He mumbles something that Booker doesn’t quite catch, but it’s low and it’s soft and it further smoothes his frayed nerves. </p>
<p>“Rest, brother,” Nicky says, and Booker hears him clearly this time.</p>
<p>He falls asleep with his head on Nicky’s shoulder and Joe’s snores filling his ears.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you for reading! &lt;3 pls let me know what you thought and if you'd like to see more! You can also come yell at me on tumblr @lazyfox411</p></blockquote></div></div>
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